The Spanish government will declare an emergency zone in the areas devastated by the fires.

Barcelona / MadridAlthough temperatures are dropping, the fires in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula are continuing unabated: around 40 fires are burning across the state, and 2025 has already become the worst year of the 21st century in terms of wildfires. Those affecting the provinces of Ourense (Galicia), northwest Castile and León, and Cáceres (Extremadura) are of greatest concern to emergency services, although optimism is growing that some outbreaks will be brought under control in the coming hours. This Tuesday, the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced from an affected area of Cáceres that he will declare an emergency zone next Tuesday in the territories ravaged by the serious fires of recent days.

At this point, Spain is experiencing one of its most virulent summers: according to estimates by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), 382,607 hectares have burned in Spain so far this year, an area equivalent to that of the 0,000th. Thus, the tool of the Copernicus program, the European Union's Earth observation and monitoring program, confirms that this year almost nine times more land has been burned than during the whole of 2024, when 42,615 hectares were affected.

Since last Tuesday, more than 31,000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the threat of flames, and although some are beginning to return, the situation is still far from under control. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that the risk of new fires breaking out remains very high or extreme in much of Galicia. Faced with this situation, Sánchez admitted that there are still "difficult hours" ahead and asked the population not to be overconfident, to take extreme precautions, and to follow the authorities' recommendations. "In the face of fires, damage, and all inclement weather, only one response is valid: institutional unity," he emphasized, stressing that, regardless of the origin of the fires, "it is evident that the climate is changing" and that the climate emergency must be a priority on the political agenda. Therefore, he insisted that in September he will propose to the scientific community, businesses, unions, and regional and municipal institutions a state pact "that transcends the legislature."

"Good news" in León and Asturias

Castilla y León is experiencing a key day in terms of the fires affecting the Picos de Europa National Park and Lake Sanabria, and especially for its most active fire, the Jarilla fire, which broke out a week ago and has already burned 15,500 hectares. Most of the active fires (29) in the state are currently located in the Castilian community, of which ten are level 2 and burning in the province of León, and another eight are level 1 between León, Zamora and Salamanca.

The entry of the flames through Jarilla in Salamanca keeps the Jerte Valley on edge, and the greatest danger is a possible disconnection towards the towns of Jerte and Tornavacas. The fire has already passed through La Garganta de Los Papúos, but according to the Minister of the Presidency, Interior and Social Dialogue, Abel Bautista, it has only burned in the upper part and "preserved this heritage jewel."

The President of the Regional Government of Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, predicted this Tuesday that throughout the morning there would be "good news" regarding the progress of some of the fires affecting the west of the community and also regarding the relocation of "many villages." In an interview on Telecinco, he assured that there is less smoke around the Sanabria Lake Natural Park and, therefore, aerial resources will be able to operate.

Mañueco has ruled out the possibility of his government requesting emergency level 3 – which would mean that fire management would become the responsibility of the Spanish government – because it "does not have more resources", and has stressed that the regional emergency body and the personnel of the Military Unit of

are currently cooperating.

The weather has also allowed for continued improvement in the control of the seventeen fires recorded in Asturias, eight of them active, so the support of the UME will be dispensed with to collaborate in extinguishing the active fires in León. In the Principality of Asturias, there are fires originating in León in Cangas del Narcea, Somiedo and Degaña, while at the other end of the community, in the Picos de Europa area, the council of Ponga has also been affected by the La Uña fire.

The biggest fire in Galician history

In Galicia, firefighters and the UME (Mechanical Emergency Unit) were able to reduce the number of active major fires to seven, all of them in Ourense. No roads are closed, although the high-speed line connecting the region with Madrid will remain inoperative for the time being. The most worrying fire is the Larouco fire, which, after surpassing the Chandrexa fire, has now reached 20,000 hectares burned, becoming the largest in Galician history since records began.

In total, nearly 70,000 hectares have burned in Galicia in recent days, but the situation is "somewhat better," according to Galician President Alfonso Rueda, as two fires, the Maceda fire and the Vilardevós-Fumace fire, were stabilized overnight Monday.

32 arrested for starting fires

Police have arrested a seventeen-year-old minor, who was found with two lighters, as the alleged perpetrator of seven forest fires that occurred in the first half of August in the Galician community. The young man has been brought before the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office in A Coruña, which has ordered his admission to a Juvenile Detention Center.

In fact, officers from the National Police and the Civil Guard have arrested 32 people and another 93 are under investigation for having started forest fires since June, either intentionally or through negligence, in different parts of the country. In recent hours, the arrest of a resident of Petín (Ourense) has emerged, detained for setting a fire without authorization to create a firebreak, and the statement before the Civil Guard of an octogenarian as the alleged perpetrator of several attempted arsons in Celanova (Ourense).